Etsy fees on a print-on-demand shirt, worked out

How much does Etsy take from a $24.99 shirt?

On a $24.99 shirt with $4.99 shipping (the buyer pays $29.98), Etsy takes $3.30: the $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee and 3% + $0.25 payment processing. That is 11.0% of what the buyer pays.

Both percentage fees apply to the item price plus the shipping you charge (and gift wrap, if any), not the item price alone. Free shipping does not avoid them: the shipping cost just moves into the price.

What is left after the shirt itself?

A Gildan 5000 printed and shipped to the US costs about $9.49 through DodgePrint's suppliers. After Etsy's $3.30, that leaves about $17.19 per sale before ads, taxes and refunds.

Run it with your own cost in the Etsy fee calculator or the profit calculator, which also shows the break-even price.

When do Etsy Offsite Ads apply, and how much do they cost?

Only when a sale comes from an Etsy ad on another site, such as Google or social media. The fee is 15% of the order (12% for shops over $10,000 a year), capped at $100 per order. On this shirt that is about $4.50.

Shops under $10,000 in yearly sales can opt out; above that, Offsite Ads are required. On a thin margin one Offsite Ads sale can take most of the profit, so price with it in mind if your shop gets many of them. The Etsy fee calculator has a switch for it.

Do fees differ outside the US?

Yes. Payment processing rates depend on the country of your bank account, and sellers in some countries pay a regulatory operating fee or VAT on fees. The calculators use US rates.

Check the rates for your country on Etsy's fees page. Currency conversion adds a fee when your listing currency differs from your payment account currency.

How can you keep more of each Etsy sale?

Lower the cost per item, bundle items so fixed fees spread across more revenue, and price so a 30% margin survives an occasional Offsite Ads sale. Raising the price only helps if it stays in the market's middle range.

• Compare print suppliers for the same blank; the price check cost hint shows typical printed-and-shipped costs.
• Offer a second item at a small discount; the $0.25 payment processing fee is charged once per order, so a bigger order spreads it. The $0.20 listing fee still applies to each item sold, because every extra item renews the listing.
• Read how much to charge for a t-shirt on Etsy for the full pricing walk-through.